OK, maybe I'm old and becoming less and less in tune with the zeitgeist, but since when where vampires and werewolves the good guys? I thought that these particular denizens of the shadow world were pretty much the bad guys. I mean, they both run around killing people: they have to kill people...it is what keep 'em alive. But not so much any more. We have Remus Lupin in Harry Potter: he's a werewolf, but a nice guy too. Then there is Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden: Dresden is a wizard (a la Merlin), but his half-brother is a white vampire--and a good guy. (White vampires don't drink blood, they suck straight life energy from their "food". Now, this is not as immediately fatal as the blood sucking variety of vampire feeding, but, ultimately, unless the White Vampire is very careful, the food source does die.) Then we have Laurel Hamilton's vampires, whats-her-name Rice and now Stephenie Meyer's new teen heroine who appears to be a vampire.
Personally, I prefer the old model. Vampires, of any description, were the enemy, and one did whatever one had to do to kill 'em.
Moving on, now that the Harry Potter saga has come to an end, I would like to commend a new Harry to you all. I am referring to the above mentioned Harry Dresden. This Harry is also a wizard (the only practicing wizard in the Chicago phone book), who lives in a slightly more complex world than Rowling's Potter. The good thing about this Harry is that his creator, Jim Butcher, has already penned 9 or 10 (I lose count...) books in the series, and he plans to go for about 23 or 24 total. Butcher has created a world very much like our own, but larger. Butcher's world has wizards and witches, warlocks and demons, faeries and trolls, pixies and elves, Knights of the Cross and Fallen Angels. It is a very rich tapestry, and one that is still in the process of creation. Reality building is one of the reasons I like this series. Pick up the first book, Storm Front, and give it a whirl. I think you'll like it.
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